Making the most of introverted leadership in the world of extroverts

Author: Ekta Agarwal

Issue: Spring Issue, 2018

Abstract

In this competitive world everyone strives to become a good leader. Generally, people have a notion that extroverts are better leaders than introverts (Cain, 2013). But recent results (Cain, 2013), are in contradiction with these peoples’ beliefs. As we advance in our careers, individual expectations increase as we need to collaborate with others for the growth of the organization (Helgoe, 2013). Due to these expectations, extroverts have the edge when compared to introverts, and hence, this leads to the capabilities of introverts being overlooked (Eve-Cahoon, 2003). It is a general human tendency to define confidence with a person’s level of loudness. As per the research by Laney (2002), loudness should not be a criterion to measure confidence. Being perplexed about our own behavior is the biggest mistake people make. Firstly, people need to understand which scale they pertain to. The research says the best way to understand this scale is by paying attention to what we do, not what we think or say (Cain, 2013). This article gives knowledge about how an introvert holds the capabilities to lead groups and inspire others. Various characteristics of introverted leadership are described with real-time examples and statistics to articulate the difference between extrovert and introvert leadership styles. The goal is not to change introverted leaders, instead it is to understand their preferences and use it as a strength (Kahnweiler, 2009).